Yuri Classics That Don’t Suck
Part 2

Paros No Ken ( Sword of Paros ) – 1986 – Yumiko Igarashi

This is a fairy tale, plain and simple. Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Paros, which had a beautiful Princess. Erminia, the Princess, prefers to dress and act like a Prince – but it’s no secrect that she’s actually a woman. Her best friend and partner-in-crime, a nobelman’s son, Yurias, is always willing to go riding out with her – they make a dashing pair as the cross the countryside on their steeds.

One day, Yurias and Erminia see some humble washerwomen by the river. A wild horse is headed straight for them and Erminia rushes down to protect the beautiful maiden who is threatened. Erminia saves the washerwoman, Fiona, immediately, there is serious chemistry between them. Because, despite her lower than humble status, Fiona remembers a time from her childhood, when a beautiful Prince saved her, and she has always been sure that he would once again come for her. When Erminia saves her from the runaway stallion, Fiona is absolutely dumbstruck – this is her Prince, she’s sure of it!

They part, but Erminia can’t seem to get Fiona out of her mind, while Fiona becomes subject to a great deal of taunting from the other washerwomen. After all, Fiona’s wonderful Prince is really a Princess – and well beyond her reach. Erminia keeps coming back to look for her washer girl, even going so far as to help her with the washing. Yurias begins to realize that Erminia’s feelings are more serious than just a little infatuation…just as he realizes that he’s fallen in love with Erminia himself.

The King demands that Erminia choose a husband, or he’ll choose one for her. When he picks Yurias, Erminia just laughs, but her father puts her under house arrest until she comes to her senses. Yurias sneaks in her room and switches clothes with Erminia…if he can’t have her, at least he can help make her happy. He brings Fiona to the castle and she and Erminia sneak off to the town for the festival; they dance, and drink and, in front of the fountain, they kiss. Parting, they swear that what happened wasn’t a fluke, but Fiona determines to never see Erminia again, so she can be married and bring the kingdom the stability it needs.

In the meantime, a storm is gathering outside Paros. The next kingdom over is planning on invading and only a strong front will be able to save her country…but Erminia doesn’t care about Paros, she only cares about Fiona, the beautiful peasant she has come to love. She tells her father that she’ll hold a tournament to find a suitor – if a man beats her, she’ll marry him. Convinced she’s better than any man, Erminia defeats challenger after challenger. But the enemy Prince is powerful and equally as convinced that he can defeat Erminia. To weaken her resolve,  he has Fiona is kidnapped and raped. Fiona escapes, but doesn’t tell Erminia what happened, knowing it would only upset her. During the competition,Yurias is blinded in a duel with the enemy Prince. The Prince defeats Erminia and, as the invasion begins, Erminia’s father dies of a heart attack. Erminia is locked in her room until she gives in to the enemy.

Fiona escapes from the enemy and dresses as a page to sneak into the castle where is tearfully reuinted with Erminia. In the end, through Yurias’ sacrifice, Erminia and Fiona escape to build a rebel force, and to live together in happiness, vowing to regain Paros one day.

Despite, or perhaps because of, Ermina’s selfishness (and who among us wouldn’t sacrifice everything for the woman we love? ^_^) this is one of THE best classic Yuri stories ever. The girl and the girl ride away into the sunset to live happily ever after.

Unlike her predescessors as Girl Prince, Sapphire in Ribon no Kishi, and Oscar in Rose of Versailles, Erminia is unabashedly a woman, and just as unapologetically falls in love with a women – and they end up together – and forget that her entire country has to suffer for it, we don’t know those people anyway. ^_^

It really just doesn’t get better than that! ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

After the last few reviews, you’re all probably wondering if there are any early Yuri stories worth your time, i.e., where the girl gets the girl and they all live happily ever after. The answer is, of course, yes, yes there are. And this week I’ll be looking at a few of my favorites. Love Vibes by Sakurazawa Erica from 1996, is classic Yuri that does not suck.

Mako is happy with her boyfriend, so when she’s propositioned by outspoken lesbian Mika, she’s flattered, but not really interested. Mika’s goodnatured about it, and steals a kiss betwen friends. The two women become closer as time passes and a real friendship begins to develop.

But as Mako’s relationship starts to falter, she finds herself turning more often to Mika for advice, then comfort. Mika finds herself hopelessly attracted to Mako, but she’s not stupid and won’t wait around for Mako to change. She meets and falls for a mysterious and beautiful stranger, who has a bizarre story of her own. (I mean, a *bizarre* story…)

Mako and Mika’s relationship stalls, as Mika begins to date this fascinating new woman. Mako desperately tries to figure out her feelings for Mika, and for her boyfriend, who now wants to be reconciled. Neither relationship works, and ultimately, Mika and Mako end up together.

Mika is happy enough, living for the moment, but Mako becomes increasingly concerned about her sexuality and being labeled. When she meets a man who recognizes her as “lesbian” she has a little crisis of identity. And to add to her stress, her boyfriend is back, and now he’s angry at her for leaving him for a woman. In the meantime, Mika’s former lover has come back as well and wants to see her again. Ultimately, a final confrontation leads to a happy ending as Mako and Mika literally run off hand in hand together.

Like most Sakurazawa stories, the characters are wildly imperfect. Mako’s vacillating and unintentional manipulation is frustrating, but in alot of ways, she’s the most realistic character. I wish there *were* more girls like Mika in this world, but there aren’t – her self-confidence is unreal, but delightful. The story is, like so many josei stories about the spectrum of human sexuality,a little overwrought in its consideration of “what is gay?” but overall, this is a huge step forward from earlier yuri stories, where all that consideration leads nowhere. This is not the perfect yuri story, but it’s a happy one and therefore worth a look.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

Miserable Classics of Shoujoai!
Part 4

Between the Sheets – Sakurazawa Erica, 1996

Saki and Minako are as close as two friends can get only…Minako realizes that she really wants to be closer. Unfortunately, not only is Saki straight, she’s really not a good person, playing various boyfriends off each other and off Saki. Ultimately, Saki finds comfort with one of Minako’s jilted boyfriends, as both of them seek to get closer to Minako through each other.

This story is altogether unsatisfactory as an early Yuri story, but it’s actually a pretty good exploration of immature sexuality. Minako seems charming to the other characters, but from a mature perspective she’s manipulative, superficial and mercenary. Saki’s weak-willed, and the various boyfriends are all clueless and selfish. There’s really not a single sympathetic character in the story. (Gosh doesn’t *that* make you want to run right out and get a copy?)

Nonetheless, this was one of the first josei manga that explored a Yuri theme and *the* first translated to English. The art and story are more adult that the average shoujo manga and the consequences have more to do with the essential qualities (or lack thereof) of the characters, than circumstance. This alone makes it worth a read.

Tokyopop produced an English edition and I have to say, they did a really decent job of expressing the bleakness of this story well in their translation. This is NOT a story to read if you’re a young lesbian looking for some reflection of lesbianism in manga…but as a character study, it’s pretty good. It was also Tokyo Pop’s first step into josei manga – an interesting choice for a company trying to reach a mostly shoujo audience.

Anata no Scandaru (あなたとスキャンダル) by Shiina Ayumi, from 1994-5, is not a happy Yuri manga.

Tomoka, a rising star who plays piano, has spent every waking second of her 15 years of life looking for her Prince. One day, while being molested by a pervert on the train, her ideal Prince rescues her! Not surprisingly, she falls head over heels for him, despite the fact that she has no idea whatsoever what his name is, where he lives, etc….

A chance meeting with an old acquaintance from childhood brings her into proximity with her Prince – Yuuki Serika, who turns out to be the popular lead singer for a up-and-coming band. To Tomokoa’s shock, she’s asked to join the band as keyboardist. Tomoka agrees, since this gives her the chance to be close to Yuuki. Unfortunately for her, Yuuki expresses a clear dislike for girls.

As Tomoka presses her suit she learns why Yuuki feels this way – because Yuuki is actually a woman! Because of her boyish figure and deep voice, she can pass as a man, (and does, to escape an arranged marriage.) After Tomoka gets over the shock of the revelation, she decides that she doesn’t care and that she’s going to pursue Serika anyway.

Unfortunately for our readers, the mangaka didn’t have the courage of her convictions. In the final volume of 5, Serika sits down with Tomoka for a serious talk. Serika insists that Tomoka doesn’t *really* love her at all…she obviously really loves the old childhood friend she’s barely spoken to during the entire series. It’s an incredibly unrealistic and sudden ending, and even at the time, readers were annoyed slightly by it.

Nonetheless, as a comedy of errors with a gender-bendy twist, it was cute, fluffy fun. No awards will be won here with either the art of the story, but like so many gender-bending stories, it has some nice moments.